Salary / 9 min read
How to Compare Two Job Offers in India Beyond CTC
A practical framework to compare monthly in-hand, guaranteed cash, bonus risk, PF, equity, location, role quality and clawbacks across two Indian job offers.
By Analyze Daily Team · Published 15 July 2026
Key takeaways
- Normalise both offers into the same categories before comparing the totals.
- Guaranteed cash, likely variable cash and one-time pay should be three separate lines.
- Compare monthly savings after location and work-pattern costs, not salary alone.
- A better role can outweigh a small cash difference, but the trade-off should be explicit rather than emotional.
Build a like-for-like compensation sheet
Place both offers into identical rows: basic, fixed allowances, employer PF, gratuity, insurance, target variable, joining bonus, retention bonus and equity. Do not accept each employer's preferred subtotal because one may call employer costs fixed pay while another reports only cash.
Calculate recurring monthly in-hand and guaranteed annual cash using each offer's actual structure. Then add a conservative variable-pay estimate and show one-time payments only in the year they occur.
Compare year one and steady state
A joining bonus can make year one look excellent and disappear in year two. A retention payment may arrive only after a service date. Equity may vest over several years and may not be liquid. Show at least a first-year view and a later-year view.
For each conditional amount, record the trigger, payout date, historical likelihood and clawback. A rupee that depends on an uncertain event should not be valued like fixed monthly salary.
| Decision line | Offer A | Offer B | How to judge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recurring monthly in-hand | Calculate | Calculate | Funds monthly commitments |
| Guaranteed annual cash | Calculate | Calculate | Excludes performance-dependent pay |
| Likely variable cash | 0/50/100% cases | 0/50/100% cases | Use written formula and history |
| One-time cash | List by date | List by date | Check tax and clawback |
| Equity | Vesting and liquidity | Vesting and liquidity | Do not treat headline grant as cash |
| Location/work costs | Monthly estimate | Monthly estimate | Subtract from take-home |
| Role and trajectory | Score with evidence | Score with evidence | Scope, manager, learning and stability |
Calculate the cost of accepting each role
Add rent difference, commute, relocation, childcare, office-day costs and any forfeited bonus from the current employer. Remote work can reduce commuting but may change allowances or career exposure; relocation can create a large one-time cash need.
Compare monthly savings after these costs. A nominally higher offer can leave less disposable income in a more expensive location, while a lower offer can still win through role quality or predictable hours.
Use a decision score without hiding the money
Choose weights before deciding which offer you prefer: guaranteed cash, role scope, manager, learning, stability, flexibility, location and long-term progression. Score evidence, not enthusiasm. Speak with the future manager and, where possible, a team member.
Keep the compensation sheet beside the scorecard. A weighted score is a thinking aid, not permission to ignore a repayment clause or an unaffordable monthly budget.
If one missing fact could change the decision, turn it into a written question for HR before accepting.
Before you decide
Your practical checklist
- Normalise both salary annexures into identical component rows.
- Calculate recurring monthly in-hand and guaranteed annual cash for each.
- Model variable pay at zero, half and full target.
- Subtract location and work-pattern costs from monthly take-home.
- Read notice, probation, clawback, equity and termination conditions.
- Score role quality only after speaking with the future manager.
Sources and review
How this guide was prepared
Material rules and regulated assumptions are checked against primary or first-party references. The page was last reviewed on 15 July 2026. If a rule or figure has changed, please report it through our corrections process.
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